Latest KFF Health News Stories
NYC Closes Public Schools As Infections Rise; Kentucky’s Schools Shut Down
Also, NBC looks at how closings cause privacy concerns for teachers and students. News is on California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s fancy dinner gathering and nursing home negligence, as well.
Second Wave Slows In Europe; China’s Vaccine; Borders Closed To US
Media outlets report on news about the pandemic and an end to the Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Governors In Northeast Ask Colleges To Test Students Before Thanksgiving Break
They are also “strongly recommending” that colleges and universities finish fall semesters online and keep students home through the December holidays. News is on a plan in Massachusetts to test all students, long wait lines for tests and more.
Brother Of Biden Adviser Is Pharmaceutical Industry Lobbyist
On Tuesday, Steve Ricchetti was named counselor to the president in Biden’s administration. Ricchetti’s brother, Jeff, started lobbying for GlaxoSmithKline in September. A month earlier, he started work for Horizon Therapeutics, once known as Horizon Pharma. Horizon did not rule out having Jeff Ricchetti lobby the incoming administration.
New Orleans Bans Upcoming Mardi Gras Parades To Avoid Spike
Mayor LaToya Cantrell says she wasn’t given any warning about the danger of large gatherings prior to the 2020 parades. News is on airline travel, the NFL’s new plans, indoor restaurants and more.
Attention Taxpayers: Walmart, McDonald’s Workers Get Large Share Of Federal Aid Programs
Walmart was one of the top four employers of SNAP and Medicaid beneficiaries in every state, according to a GAO report requested by Sen. Bernie Sanders. News is on millions of Americans about to lose unemployment and a poll surveying Americans about a stalled relief package.
Health System Toll: Midwest Mayo Has More Than 900 Infected Workers
“There are three things you need to take care of any patient,” Dr. Amy Williams, the executive dean of the Mayo Clinic practice said. “Space, supplies and staff. And what we are most worried about is staff.” Other health industry is on signing up the uninsured, a new care center in North Dakota and more.
Exhausted Hospital Workers Crushed As Coronavirus Patients Flood In
With no relief in sight from the current unrelenting surge of sick Americans into medical facilities, front-line workers are feeling the physical and mental toll. They are begging Americans to take more care.
Biden Plows Forward With COVID Planning Despite Transition Delays
President-elect Joe Biden warned about the dangers of stonewalling the transition while meeting with frontline health workers while his advisers provide early windows into their coronavirus response strategy.
Bill Altering Orphan Drug Act Passes House
The legislation aims to close a loophole that provides drugmakers with an extended monopoly and the opportunity for big profits on drugs for rare diseases. An orphan drug bill has also been introduced in the Senate.
Trump Administration Must Stop Deporting Minors Due To COVID, Judge Rules
A federal judge ordered the federal government to quit expelling unaccompanied minors from the U.S. on the basis of the pandemic. Other Trump administration news reports on Thanksgiving guidance and Army discharges related to mental health.
COVID Immunity May Last Years; AstraZeneca’s Vaccine Helps Seniors
AstraZeneca/Oxford University’s COVID vaccine produced a strong immune response in people 70 and older, data published Thursday showed. There’s no word yet on how effective the AstraZeneca vaccine is. Meanwhile, a new study from the La Jolla Institute for Immunology and Icahn School of Medicine suggests COVID immunity can last at least six months.
Every State Will Get COVID Vaccine Within 24 Hours Of FDA Approval, Warp Speed Chief Says
At least some doses will be available immediately, Gen. Gustave Perna said Wednesday. After that, Perna said there will be weekly distributions as doses become available.
A Quarter Of A Million Americans Are Now Dead From COVID
Will this be the tragic milestone that finally sinks in? As the U.S. passes 250,000 deaths, there appears to be no bottom for the crisis with daily cases shattering another record and over 3 million people in the U.S. estimated to be currently infected by COVID-19.
With No National Plan, States Cobble Together Response To Rapid Surge
With virus spread out of control and Thanksgiving looming, some governors and local officials are ordering new restrictions — though none are as aggressive as ones issued last spring. And states are taking different approaches, as exemplified by mask mandates.
Take It From an Expert: Fauci’s Hierarchy of Safety During COVID
In a new interview, the nation’s top infectious disease expert tells us how to survive the coming months and describes how hard it is when people still insist the coronavirus outbreak is “fake news.”
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: What Would Dr. Fauci Do?
Anthony Fauci is one of the nation’s most trusted voices during public health emergencies. As the head of the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, Fauci has helped guide the nation through the HIV/AIDS epidemic and more recent outbreaks of Ebola and Zika. In this special episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” podcast, Fauci sits down with KHN Editor-in-Chief Elisabeth Rosenthal to talk about how to navigate the next phase of the coronavirus pandemic and what the incoming Biden administration should do first.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Family Mourns Man With Mental Illness Killed by Police and Calls for Change
Like almost a quarter of the 989 people killed by police in the U.S. in the past 12 months, Ricardo Muñoz had a serious mental illness. “Instead of a cop just being there, there should have been other responders,” his sister says.
People Proving to Be Weakest Link for Apps Tracking COVID Exposure
Contact tracers in many states are stretched thin. Colorado is among the latest states to launch an app that aims to help, based on the COVID contact-tracing tool built by Apple and Google. But there’s a chicken-and-egg problem: More people will use them if they prove to work, but the apps become effective only if more people use them.